In the ever-evolving landscape of business technologies, the release of Basware InvoiceAI marks a significant turning point, not only for large enterprises but also for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs. As a serial entrepreneur with a background in deeptech and over 20 years of experience across multiple industries, I, Violetta Bonenkamp, believe that innovations like these redefine what’s possible for finance teams, making cutting-edge tools more inclusive for businesses of all sizes.
The Problem with Manual Invoice Processing
Let me start with some eye-opening statistics from Basware itself: 40% of invoices at large global organizations arrive without purchase order numbers. This glaring gap creates a $549 billion “blind spot” in unmanaged global spend. The implications of such inefficiencies are vast, finance teams waste over 200 hours per year per employee just cross-referencing and correcting missing information for non-purchase-order invoices. This labor-intensive process not only has financial ramifications but also increases risk exposure to compliance issues and fraud.
For entrepreneurs and SMEs, the stakes are even higher. We often don’t have large finance teams. Any disruption or error in payment cycles can directly jeopardize relationships with suppliers and create long-term operational stress.
Why InvoiceAI Is a Game-Changer
What makes Basware’s InvoiceAI unique is not just that it digitizes processes, it introduces something called “agentic AI”. For those unfamiliar with the term, agentic AI mimics the decision-making and problem-solving behaviors of a human accounts payable (AP) clerk.
What does that mean for organizations? It means that InvoiceAI doesn’t simply execute pre-programmed rules; it understands context, flags anomalies, suggests actions, and can even process some of the most challenging invoices (like non-PO invoices) independently. For SMEs, this could be the difference between adding more staff or repurposing hours for growth-driven activities.
Key Functionalities of InvoiceAI
In typical entrepreneurial fashion, I dug deeper into how entrepreneurs, SMEs, or even freelancers can leverage this advanced solution. Here are the top functionalities of InvoiceAI and why they matter:
-
SmartCoding
Automatically categorizes and assigns accounting codes to invoices. For startups without full-time accountants, this feature alone could streamline bookkeeping, free up resources for other activities, and ensure compliance with proper accounting practices. -
SmartWorkflow
End-to-end automation of invoice approvals means you no longer have to worry about bottlenecks, an essential fix for small teams where every operational delay has ripple effects. -
SmartPDF
With this tool, freelancers will no longer dread converting invoices, receipts, or documents from challenging formats into workable data. Global companies like Nexans have already achieved a 92% automation rate with this feature, cutting verification time dramatically. -
AP Business Agent
Imagine having an AI assistant that provides just-in-time recommendations for navigating invoice discrepancies, a lifesaver for those wearing multiple hats in their startup roles. -
AP Data Agent
This feature offers intuitive, natural language processing to analyze financial data, a useful tool for fund-raising pitches or strategic negotiation moments. As a solopreneur, I can attest to the value of easily accessing and presenting accurate financial data.
Why Entrepreneurs Should Care About InvoiceAI
While large-scale enterprises and compliance-heavy organizations see the features and efficiencies of InvoiceAI as a MUST-HAVE, SMEs, including startups, may initially hesitate to invest in such technologies. Here’s why you shouldn’t:
-
Time Saved is Profits Earned
Instead of spending tedious hours poring over invoices and checking for errors, you can redirect that energy towards product innovation, customer acquisition, or building partnerships, things that actually grow your bottom line. -
Stronger Supplier Relationships
Payment delays don’t just hurt your reputation but erode trust as well, particularly if you’re a smaller operator. By using AI to ensure prompt, error-free payments, you create stronger, enduring relationships with suppliers. -
Proactive Compliance
Tax policies and compliance rules can seem daunting, especially when scaling into new markets. InvoiceAI preemptively ensures compliance, which is an underrated but crucial factor in sustainable growth.
For tech startups, in particular, embracing such automation sends a signal to investors or partners, you are serious about operational efficiency and scalability, which are key ingredients for successful scaling.
How to Get Started with InvoiceAI
If you're intrigued by how InvoiceAI can enhance your financial processes but unsure where to begin, here’s a simple guide tailored to entrepreneurs:
-
Identify Your Pain Points
Start by analyzing where your current finance processes fall short. Is it in approval workflows, manual data entry, or compliance? Align your needs with the specific tools provided, such as SmartPDF or SmartCoding. -
Consult the Professionals
For complex needs, reach out to Basware to discuss how InvoiceAI can be tailored to meet them. Take advantage of their resources, like case studies and webinars, to understand how companies like yours have benefited. -
Pilot the Solution
Before committing fully, implement a test phase to see tangible ROI. Use measurable KPIs such as time saved per invoice, reduction in compliance errors, or increased touchless processing rates. -
Upskill Your Team
InvoiceAI is user-friendly, but like any new tool, a brief training session for your team will maximize its value.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Despite the myriad opportunities this type of innovation provides, many entrepreneurs end up stumbling over simple pitfalls. Here are some to avoid:
- Assuming automation means no oversight: While InvoiceAI can operate autonomously, human oversight remains critical for nuanced decision-making. Think of the relationship as a true partnership, not a replacement.
- Underestimating data quality: Garbage in, garbage out. Make sure your existing invoice data is clean, structured, and compliant to reap the full benefits of automation.
- Delaying adoption to save costs: Waiting too long to adopt automation may seem like cost-saving, but it’s often more expensive in the long run due to inefficiencies and missed growth opportunities.
Insights for the Future
In my role at Fe/male Switch and other ventures, I’ve championed the importance of adopting technology that doesn’t just save time but shifts paradigms. Entering 2026, we're seeing a clear evolution in AP automation. Technologies such as agentic AI, like the one underlying InvoiceAI, are no longer limited to Fortune 500 companies. They are designed to make even a five-person startup function with the efficiency and precision of global giants.
As someone who often educates and mentors upcoming entrepreneurs, the shift towards solutions like this marks an exciting moment, one where startups and SMEs can access the same operational efficiencies as their larger, more established counterparts.
Conclusion
Basware InvoiceAI is more than a product launch; it’s a glimpse into the future of business operations. Whether you’re a freelancer, a startup founder, or managing operations at a growing enterprise, this AI-driven innovation addresses core inefficiencies, saves valuable time, and reinforces compliance, powering businesses to operate smarter, not harder.
By embracing such transformative tools, entrepreneurs have a unique opportunity to focus their creative energy and resources where they truly matter. Isn’t that what entrepreneurship is all about? For anyone ready to elevate their financial workflows, explore the full capabilities of Basware InvoiceAI and see what AI can do for your business.
FAQ
1. What is Basware InvoiceAI?
Basware InvoiceAI is a suite of AI-driven tools designed to automate the invoice lifecycle, leveraging Agentic AI to mimic human decision-making for improved efficiency in finance operations.
Read about Basware InvoiceAI
2. What issue does InvoiceAI address in financial workflows?
InvoiceAI solves inefficiencies related to manual invoice processing and the lack of purchase order numbers on 40% of invoices, which contributes to a $549 billion “blind spot” in unmanaged spend.
3. What is Agentic AI in InvoiceAI?
Agentic AI is an advanced AI technology that mimics human judgment in accounts payable processes by understanding context, suggesting actions, and handling invoice discrepancies autonomously.
Discover the capabilities of InvoiceAI
4. What are some key features of InvoiceAI?
InvoiceAI includes functionalities such as SmartCoding, SmartWorkflow, SmartPDF, AP Business Agent, and AP Data Agent, which automate tasks like classification, approval routing, data conversion, real-time guidance, and analytics.
Learn about its key features at Basware
5. How does InvoiceAI impact invoice processing efficiency?
InvoiceAI enables touchless processing by converting paper and PDF invoices into digital data, significantly reducing processing time and manual intervention. Nexans achieved a 92% automation rate using SmartPDF within 7 weeks.
Explore the Nexans case study
6. What are the benefits for SMEs using InvoiceAI?
For small and medium-sized enterprises, InvoiceAI helps save time and resources by automating manual invoice processing, ensuring compliance, and improving supplier relationships.
7. How does InvoiceAI support global compliance?
InvoiceAI integrates mechanisms for end-to-end, dual-side compliance, ensuring adherence to global tax policies and minimizing compliance risks.
Learn how Basware supports compliance
8. How can finance teams get started with InvoiceAI?
To implement InvoiceAI, businesses should identify pain points in their processes, consult Basware for tailored solutions, pilot the tool to measure ROI, and provide training for effective usage.
Find out how to get started with InvoiceAI
9. How does InvoiceAI improve supplier relationships?
By automating invoice approvals and ensuring timely, error-free payments, InvoiceAI helps businesses build and maintain trust with their suppliers.
10. Why should AP departments invest in automation like InvoiceAI?
Investing in AI like InvoiceAI reduces manual errors, saves over 200 hours of work annually per AP staff member, and equips finance departments for strategic, data-driven operations.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
